Headscarved young woman attacked on İstanbul minibus

A young woman wearing a headscarf was attacked by another woman who called her a “terrorist” on a minibus in İstanbul’s Maltepe neighborhood on Monday, according to Turkish media reports.

The incident took place as Fatma Dilara Aslıhan Y., a high school student, was travelling on a minibus with her friends to go to Maltepe. Another woman on the minibus attacked the young woman and suddenly took her headscarf off, saying: “You are a terrorist. Everyone is dying because of you. You can’t go to school wearing a headscarf. You must die.” The incident was reported to the police by the driver of the minibus.

The attacker, who was reportedly a physics teacher, was detained by the police.

Fatma Dilara Aslıhan Y. told news outlets that she had filed a criminal complaint against the attacker.

Attacks on women due to their attire are not uncommon in Turkey. Last September, a young nurse in İstanbul was attacked by a man on a bus for wearing shorts. The incident was widely covered in the Turkish media.